Zig Zag
by PhoebeSnow
Summary: Wanda is lost in a maze, but she's not alone.


**A/N: These two deserve all of the love in the world. **

* * *

Wanda kicked a lone pine cone with her boot and sighed. Being lost in this stupid corn maze hadn't been her idea, but Nat dared her to finish it all by herself and she'd taken the challenge with pleasure, certain that a maze couldn't be that hard.

Oh, how wrong she'd been.

Whoever constructed this blasted thing deserved an award because for the last two hours, Wanda had wandered around the maze, hoping and praying that she was getting closer to the exit. Sadly, all she found were a steady number of dead ends.

"Why would anyone think this is fun?" She grumbled and walked around another corner. "I should've just gotten on the Ferris wheel. It's a million times better than a freaking corn maze."

"I agree."

She squealed and jumped backwards as she ran into a man who had just bumped into her.

"I'm sorry if I scared you, miss-Wanda!"

That voice was familiar...Wanda looked up and to her surprise, she was standing in front of Bucky Barnes. He wore a pair of boots, baggy jeans, a black t shirt and his red rimmed sunglasses were pushed back on the top of his head. God, he looked good.

"Oh! Hi, Bucky. What brings you here?" _Why did you ask him something dumb like that? Why else would he be in a maze at the fair? Think before you speak, woman!_

"Steve dared me to go through this maze and like an idiot, I took up him up on the offer. For a while, I was sure this was the worst place to be today, but since I've run into you, I don't think so anymore." He smiled down at her and she felt her cheeks warm.

_He's being nice, is all. Don't read anything into it. _"Thanks. It's better being paired up with someone else in a corn maze than being alone." Wanda replied and started walking again.

"That's not too different from what I was thinking. I've always had a love-hate thing for mazes like this."

"Then why take Steve's bet?"

"Actually, I took his bet because of the hundred bucks he promised to give me if I made it out before noon."

"Tsk, I don't know how you're going to manage that. It's already eleven twenty-one."

"Maybe Lady Luck is on my side today." His eyes caught hers again and she forced herself to look away and focus on the ground in front of her. "So what brought **you** into this dastardly maze?"

"Natasha dared me to get out the apartment and do something fun for once. She always manages to drag me to the fair every year as it is, but I never like going on the rides except for the Ferris wheel and bumper cars. Besides that, I come here to eat, go to the house of mirrors and play all of the carnival games."

"Oh, yeah? Which game is your favorite? I always like to play the ring toss. My hand-eye coordination is really good and I win the biggest prizes at that booth. I think, after six years straight of winning his best prizes, the guy who runs it hates my guts."

"The target one is my favorite. I learned how to shoot a gun years ago, so I always ace it. The booth runner for that game probably hates my guts, too."

"Well, seeing as how all of those games are rigged, I can't say I feel sorry for either of them. When you cheat people, you get payback one way or another."

"Very true."

They continued to walk in silence and Wanda fidgeted with her hands. She tried to think of something to say, but couldn't find the words. On one side, she was grateful that she wasn't alone, but on the other, she was intimidated. It was embarrassing to admit, but she was always overwhelmed being in Bucky's presence, so it was hard for her to chat with him.

Bucky was outgoing and having an attractive face along with a likable demeanor certainly helped his popularity. Men were drawn to him because they liked being in the presence of a confident male. As for the women, well, women had always liked him and since he was currently single, they hadn't hesitated to ask him out for dates and give him their number.

It was a good thing Bucky and Wanda were alone at the moment. Although...the maze was devoid of other people besides the two of them. There weren't even voices talking outside of the maze. Strange. Maybe everyone else was busy eating lunch to go through the maze. Wanda wouldn't know. This was her first time through a maze, after all.

They came to a dead end with two new paths splitting in opposite directions. Bucky looked at her.

"Where do you think we should go? Left or right?"

"Um..." Wanda took a good look at both paths, chewing her lip. She didn't want to pick the wrong one and be stuck in this maze any longer than she had to. "The left seems to be the most travelled." She frowned and bent down to get a closer inspection of the ground.

"What is it?"

"There's a lot of footprints leading to the left path, but I also see a lot of footprints backtracking and going to the right path. Maybe everyone who went to the right hit a dead end and realised that the left was the way to go. I think we should try it."

"Sounds good. And if it turns out were not on the correct path, at least we have each other for company."

Wanda felt her pulse speed up and she sent Bucky a shy smile. Man, he really knew how to make her feel good. That was all part of his charm, but she didn't think he was trying to be a flirt. His words seemed genuine and kind.

In fact, every time he spoke to her - when she wasn't hastily rushing to get home after classes, that is - he was unceasingly sincere. She could tell that he indulged his fangirls and was nice to them, but there was a resignation that always bubbled just beneath the surface. Wanda surmised from this that he didn't like all of the attention his attractiveness brought him.

"You've got a serious look on your face."

She blinked and stopped walking to face Bucky. In her musing, she hadn't heard what he said to her. "I'm sorry?"

"I said you've got a serious look on your face. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Nothing's wrong. I just...I appreciate how nice you are to me. I know I don't make it easy." Countless times, she'd seen Bucky at college and wanted to approach him, but her anxiety would get the best of her and she'd end up leaving. At the most, she'd speak to him briefly, but only if Steve or Natasha were with her.

"That's true. Not that I hold it against you. Some people are introverted and that's not a thing you can just switch off at the drop of a hat. I have a little sister who is very shy around people, particularly people who aren't family. If I'm with her, it makes things better, though. She says I'm a buffer and that helps."

"Pietro was a buffer for me when I still lived in Russia. He's always been the fun-loving, charismatic one while I prefer to stay at home and watch tv or read a book. Being social is fine for some people, but I need to balance it out with more alone time." She huffed and they turned another corner. "Anxiety is a bitch."

"I'm sorry it's such a challenge for you, Wanda. I can't imagine what it must be like experiencing that every day."

"It's difficult, but spending time with Nat helps. She's outgoing, but she makes me feel included and safe when we're around other people."

"So she's your other buffer."

"Yes. She looks out for me a lot, like a big sister."

"Sounds like my friendship with Steve. He and I have had each other's backs for years. Although, he's the one who's prone to get in trouble before me."

"Really?"

"Don't let him fool you. He's a good guy, but he's always been a little shit."

"Interesting. That's the same thing he says about you." She sent Bucky a wry grin.

He waved his hand in dismissal. "Ah, ya can't trust everything that comes out of his mouth."

"Easy for you to say, but he's my friend, so that automatically trumps your word over his."

"I...was hoping to change that."

"What do you mean?" Wanda eyed him curiously.

Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. Suddenly, he looked unsure and nervous, which was unlike him. "I mean I was hoping that you'd like to be friends with me."

Wanda's foolish heart began thumping against her chest again and she took a deep breath before responding. "You want to be my friend?"

"Is that so astonishing? I have a lot of acquaintances, but only a few people truly understand me. Steve, Natasha, Sam, and I think you would, too. I've heard a lot of good things about you from them and I know just from watching you at school that you're an intelligent, sweet young woman. I'd love to get to know you better if you'll let me."

"I-I would like that. I've wanted that for so long, but I wasn't sure how to say it without being...awkward." She saw him open his mouth and held up a hand to stop him. "It's nothing you did. I just get that wallflower feeling whenever I'm around you and I don't know how to start up a conversation."

Bucky stepped forward and picked up her hand, holding it gently in his palm. "I won't hurt you, Wanda. I just want to be close to you."

"I want that, too. But I think I'd want more than to be friends with you, Bucky." She touched his shoulder. "You...have no idea what goes in my head when I see you, what I'd like to say to you." She felt her cheeks flush. "I suppose I've held you up on a pedestal for a while."

"That's okay. I've had my own fantasies about you, Ms. Maximoff." His last words came out in a whisper and she shivered.

"Wanda, please. Ms. Maximoff sounds like you're one of my teachers."

"Alright, but call me James."

"James?"

"It's my real name. Bucky is short for Buchanan, which is my middle name. I'd rather hear my real name on your lips."

She fluttered her eyelashes and squeezed his shoulder. "Well, then...James. I will honor your request."

He leaned forward and kissed Wanda's hand. "Thank you. Now, what do you say we finish this maze and I treat you to an iced tea?"

"How did you know I like iced tea?"

"Nat told me."

"Oh, did she?"

"She and Steve also planned for us to meet here."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. See, they both knew that you liked me and I'd always ask about you, so they decided to have us meet here. Nat was supposed to convince you to go through this corn maze and I'd show up and we'd have an opportunity to talk."

If it had been any other man, Wanda would've been upset with him, but she was actually happy her friends planned this for her. When you're put in a situation with another person, you have no choice to communicate. As shy as Wanda was, she engaged in a dialogue with James, so the plan worked in their favor.

"Sneaky, but sweet. I guess I'll give you a pass this time, but I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"What did they do to keep other people from coming in the maze?" She glanced down at her watch. "There's been no one in here but you and me for a while."

"Nat offered five hundred bucks to the guy who sells tickets to the maze and asked if she could borrow it for a few hours."

"And he obviously accepted."

"For sure. She's good at persuading people to do things."

"Is she ever." Wanda rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling.

"Let's get out of here so we can get some food."

"You know the way out?"

"Yeah. I've been going through this maze since I was a boy. I know it like the back of my hand. We're near the exit."

Wanda chuckled as they walked through the maze. Once they came out, she was afraid James would let go of her hand and put a little space between them, but he didn't. They started something here and she was eager to see where it took them. From the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at her, she knew that he felt the same.


End file.
